Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Pineapple Upside Down Cake is a classic cake with a caramelized brown sugar and pineapple topping! Made from scratch, not a cake mix, the cake is light and tender.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe!

A Classic Dessert: This easy Pineapple Upside-Down Cake recipe is a sweet treat that has been around since the 1920s. This classic cake is the first thing I ever baked in my home ec class.

Amazing Flavor and Texture: I love the gooey and crunchy edge that forms from the brown sugar and butter.  I used buttermilk in the cake batter and it makes for a nice moist cake. There is no cake mix used in this recipe.
Because there is no frosting, I like to serve this cake with a vanilla custard sauce. It is easy to make and so delicious. The perfect addition to this cake recipe.

Ingredients Needed

• All Purpose Flour
• Sugar, granulated sugar and brown sugar
• Eggs
• Butter, salted
• Milk, Buttermilk and whole milk
• Pineapple Rings, I use canned pineapple slices, but you can use fresh pineapple as well. Drain off the pineapple juice.
• Maraschino Cherries
• Baking Powder
• Cornstarch
• Vanilla Extract
• Salt

How to Make Pineapple Upside Down Cake

• Add 4 Tbsp of the butter to 9-inch cake pan or cast iron skillet and place in oven until butter melts.
• Remove pan from oven and stir brown sugar into melted butter and spread into an even layer.
• Place pineapple ring in the middle of pan and layer half slices around it.

• Mix flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl.
• Combine butter and granulated sugar in a separate bowl with an electric mixer and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
• Add eggs and egg white into batter and stir until combined, then add vanilla extract and stir.
• Alternate adding dry ingredients and milk into mixture, stirring until incorporated. Batter will be thick
• Spread batter gently over the top of pineapple slices.

• Bake cake at 350 degrees F until toothpick comes out clean, about 35-45 minutes.
• Allow the cake to sit in the pan for 10 minutes.
• Run a knife around the edge of the pan.
• Turn cake pan over onto a plate. Serve with vanilla sauce, recipe below.

How to Make Vanilla Sauce

• Heat milk in a pan until just simmering.
• Mix cornstarch into remaining milk and whisk until dissolved.
• Add in sugar and egg yolks to cornstarch mixture and beat until smooth.
• Slowly pour into simmering milk and whisk together.
• Stir frequently until thickened, about 3-4 minutes
• Remove pan from heat and stir in vanilla.
• Cover top of sauce with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming.
• Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate and chill completely.
• Pour over sliced cake and serve.

Check out more of my favorite pineapple recipes:

• Grilled Pineapple
• Pineapple Casserole
• Cranberry Pineapple Muffins
• Chicken Salad with Pasta
• Sweet and Sour Pork

Be sure and follow me over on You Tube for weekly cooking demos.

5 from 2 votes

Pineapple Upside Down Cake Recipe

Recipe From: Leigh Anne Wilkes

Pineapple upside down cake is a classic and one of the first things I ever baked!

serves: 12 people

Prep:15 minutes minutes

Cook:35 minutes minutes

0 minutes minutes

Total:50 minutes minutes

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Ingredients

• ▢ 3/4 cup butter, divided softened, salted
• ▢ 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• ▢ 1 can pineapple rings drained, slices cut in half except for one ring
• ▢ 10 ounce maraschino cherries
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• ▢ 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• ▢ 1/2 tsp salt
• ▢ 3/4 cups sugar
• ▢ 2 eggs room temperature
• ▢ 1 egg white room temperature
• ▢ 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• ▢ 1/3 cups buttermilk room temperature

Vanilla Sauce

• ▢ 2 1/2 cups whole milk divided
• ▢ 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• ▢ 1/3 cup sugar
• ▢ 2 egg yolks
• ▢ 1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place 4 Tbsp of butter in 9 inch cast iron pan or cake pan
• Place in oven and allow butter to melt then remove from oven.
• Stir brown sugar into butter and pat into an even layer.
• Place whole ring in middle of pan and layer half slices around middle slice.
• Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bow.
• In your mixer beat remaining butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
• Beat the eggs and egg white into batter. Add vanilla
• Add in flour mixture and milk. Alternate. Mix until incorporated. Batter will be thick
• Gently spread batter over the top of pineapple slices.
• Bake cake for 35-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
• Let cake cool for 10 minutes.
• Place a serving plate over the top of the pan and then flip the cake over. Allow the cake to release onto the plate. Remove cake and pan allow cake to cool.

Vanilla Sauce

• Heat milk in a pan until just simmering.
• Mix cornstarch into remaining 1/2 C milk and whisk until dissolved.
• Add in sugar and egg yolks to cornstarch mixture and beat until smooth.
• Slowly pour into simmering milk and whisk together.
• Stir frequently until thickened, about 3-4 minutes
• Remove pan from heat and stir in vanilla.
• If you have lumps of cornstarch pour sauce through a sieve to remove them.
• Cover top of sauce with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming.
• Cool to room temperature. Refrigerate and chill completely.

Tips & Notes:

1. 1. Cut the pineapple rings in half so you can get more pineapple in the pan.  The more pineapple the better.

1. 1. Be careful as you spread the cake batter so that you don’t dislodge the cherries.  You want it to look pretty when you take it out of the pan too.
   2. Blot the wet pineapples and maraschino cherries before using.  Excess liquid creates an unpleasantly wet cake.

Recommended Products

Cast Iron Skillet (10in)

Measuring Spoons

Measuring Cups

Nutrition Facts:

Calories: 393kcal (20%) Carbohydrates: 60g (20%) Protein: 6g (12%) Fat: 15g (23%) Saturated Fat: 9g (56%) Cholesterol: 96mg (32%) Sodium: 249mg (11%) Potassium: 254mg (7%) Fiber: 1g (4%) Sugar: 46g (51%) Vitamin A: 560IU (11%) Vitamin C: 4mg (5%) Calcium: 132mg (13%) Iron: 1mg (6%)

* Disclaimer: All nutrition information are estimates only. Read full disclosure here.

Course:cake

Cuisine:American

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